Aluminum and copper are two of the most widely used conductor materials due to their high conductivity and relatively low cost. As such, it is often desired to join, such as by welding, copper components and aluminum components to each other to be part of an electric circuit in various applications, such as in hybrid electrical vehicles. However, this is known to be difficult to accomplish due to the differing melting points and thermal conductivities of aluminum and copper. In addition, a liquid mixture of aluminum and copper forms hard and brittle intermetallics as it solidifies and cools. Two commonly used joining methods are ultrasonic welding and laser welding processes.